135: Chapter 135 "The Mastermind"

Su Chen shook his head, as if sighing.

The next moment, his figure vanished from where he stood.

"What?!"

The youth holding the blade felt his vision blur, and his target was already gone.

Immediately, a sharp pain shot through his ribs as a massive force struck him.

He flew sideways uncontrollably, crashing heavily into a large tree.

His vision went black, and it felt as if his internal organs had been dislodged.

The other two didn't even see Su Chen's movements clearly; they only felt a numbness in their wrists as their weapons flew out of their hands.

Immediately after, they were struck hard on the neck, collapsing to the ground without a sound, temporarily losing consciousness.

From the moment Su Chen struck until the three fell, it took only a split second.

Su Chen didn't even glance at the two unconscious people and walked up to the youth with the blade.

Blood spilled from the corner of the youth's mouth as he looked at him in terror.

"The jade talisman, all three of yours, not a single one missing."

Su Chen reached out his hand, his tone indifferent.

The youth's expression changed, and finally, gritting his teeth, he took three jade talismans from his robes and handed them to Su Chen.

Then, he slammed his life-saving talisman onto the ground.

The life-saving talisman shattered upon contact with the ground.

A ball of white light enveloped him, and he vanished from the spot instantly.

He had been forcibly teleported out.

Su Chen swept the three jade talismans against his own.

As expected.

The original number "3" instantly changed to "86".

"The organizers are quite bold, actually allowing contestants to rob each other..."

Su Chen couldn't help but click his tongue.

"Well, what else is there to say, brother."

"Continue!"

Spirit Realm, deep in the primeval forest.

Su Chen leaned against an ancient tree as thick as three men could embrace, his chest rising and falling slightly.

"Is this f***ing normal?"

Less than half a day since he stepped into this area, although he hadn't managed to rob many opponents of their opportunities.

However, the frequency of monster attacks he encountered had far exceeded the normal range.

What was even stranger was that these monsters were not wandering aimlessly; it was as if they had received some invisible command, coming from three distinct directions.

They were surging toward his area in organized, layered waves.

It felt as if behind these monsters, there was an even more terrifying monster holding a whip, forcing them to attack him.

"This... is someone trying to help me or harm me?"

Su Chen was somewhat dumbfounded.

If not for his powerful strength, he might not have been able to hold on under such attacks.

Painful?

Of course.

This continuous, high-intensity assault kept his nerves on edge, his spiritual energy consumption was far exceeding expectations, and he had added a few shallow wounds to his body.

If not for his rich practical experience and solid foundation, if it were an ordinary Seventh-Rank Martial Artist, they would have likely been exhausted and defeated, forced to crush their life-saving talisman and withdraw long ago.

But the joy was also real.

Each time he slew a monster, the points within the jade talisman on his wrist would jump and increase.

Those other trial-takers who tried to crush their life-saving talismans to escape after being defeated by him were even more like "fat sheep" delivered to his door.

In just half a day, the points on his jade talisman had broken the thousand mark and were still climbing at a considerable speed.

This way of farming points, which was both "sitting back and reaping the benefits" and full of challenges, was extremely efficient.

"Regardless of who is behind this, or what mechanism is playing tricks..."

Su Chen sat cross-legged on the ground, and soon, his aura returned to its peak state.

"Since you've sent so many 'gifts', I will accept them all without hesitation."

He adjusted his breathing, raised his sword tip again, and locked his gaze on the dense forest ahead, where rustling sounds were heard once more.

Meanwhile, in the center of the Spirit Realm, there was a mysterious area shrouded in eternal, milky white fog.

Three slender, graceful, and slightly ethereal figures were floating above the sea of fog in a triangular formation.

Outside the sea of fog where the three were located, there were many "people" wearing different clothes and emitting powerful spiritual energy fluctuations.

If anyone proficient in Great Xia history were here, they would be astonished to discover that many of the "people" outside the sea of fog were figures famous in Great Xia history, even worshipped by ordinary people.

They were Great Xia's greatest reliance in the era of spiritual energy resurgence—Heroic Spirits.

At this moment, they were quietly waiting for the young martial artists who had completed the Spirit Realm trial to appear, so they could choose their desired contractors.

Even with their noble status, they could not enter the fog.

Because the three inside the fog had identities far more noble than theirs.

Those were Transcendent Heroic Spirits.

The fact that they were willing to condescend to come to the Heroic Spirit Contract Ceremony to find young martial artists was enough to make these ordinary Heroic Spirits' jaws hit the floor.

But what the Heroic Spirits outside the white fog did not know was this.

The ones inside the white fog were merely the spiritual consciousness projections of Ye Jingjun, Zhuge Jinyu, and Cang Mingyue.

Their true bodies had already urgently headed to the East Sea near Jianghai City.

The mysterious leader of the Huayu Association had suddenly lost contact while crossing the East Sea to Jianghai City, and the equipment inside the Hall of Valor had indeed detected abnormal energy fluctuations.

This was by no means a small matter.

What remained in the Spirit Realm to participate in the contract ceremony were only a portion of their important spiritual consciousness, maintained by the special array of the Hall of Valor.

Although they shared the same memories, consciousness, and emotions as the three of them, their power level and durability were greatly reduced, and they could not leave the scope of the Spirit Realm.

At this moment, the atmosphere between the three women was subtle and full of undercurrents.

Ye Jingjun was still in an enchanting red dress; she stood with her arms crossed, her crimson eyes sweeping over the other two, and she was the first to speak.

"This East Sea incident is unpredictable."

"With the true bodies gone, only projections remain here, which is a rare moment of leisure."

"It just so happens that I can take this opportunity to see if there is any talent among this year's young people."

"In my North China Hall, I am just lacking a capable subordinate to serve by my side."

"If I really encounter one, sacrificing my insignificant body a little is also an insignificant matter."

As she spoke, her gaze seemed to drift unintentionally toward the forest area where Su Chen was located in the distance.

In a corner that neither of them noticed, a wisp of sword intent containing an implication of "luring" quietly merged into the fog and disappeared.

The next moment, in the northeast direction of Su Chen in the forest, two "Shadow Wolves" with fierce auras condensed out of thin air, growling as they crept toward him.

Zhuge Jinyu's projection was dressed in a plain white chancellor's outfit, except that she had modified the upper part into the shape of a qipao, with slits on both sides revealing her fair thighs, appearing both cold and alluring.

She nodded slightly upon hearing this.

"Great Xia is full of talent, and the Heroic Spirit Contract Ceremony is a grand event for selecting excellent talents."

"My West China district also needs to replenish some fresh blood this year."

Although she said this, in her heart, Zhuge Jinyu was already cursing.

Ye Jingjun, this old maid, willing to come out to find other male martial artists to contract with?

She wouldn't believe it even if the sky fell.

She had come out to search for "Xiao Yan" because she had information that was basically accurate; why were Cang Mingyue and Ye Jingjun coming out to join in the fun?

(Four chapters! More than ten thousand words added up, finally finished.)

(I'm really amazing, hehe.)

(Adding a chapter is a reward. Thank you brothers for sending me to the top 300 of the male channel gift list!)

(Another chapter was something I wanted to save as a draft, but I thought about wanting to speed up the pace and it was some transitional content, so I sent it out. Most of the next part will be the three heroines fighting over the male lead, hehe~)

(The author is working so hard, it's not too much to ask for some small gifts that count towards the reward value, right QWQ.)

(PS: A bunch of bad reviews refreshed on the backend today, and I almost had a mental breakdown.)

(It's one thing if you say my writing is simple and has logic problems.)

(There are people saying I'm a female-oriented author, some saying I have brain problems, and some saying the male lead is a pure CS green tea...)

(You guys even found faults that you couldn't find with a lantern, I'm impressed.)